Tandy Leather Factory Reports March 2013 Sales Up 9% Over March 2012
Retail SSS Up 13%; Wholesale SSS Flat; International SSS Up 20%
FORT WORTH, Texas, April 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (Nasdaq:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of March were $6.7 million, up 9% compared to March 2012 sales of $6.2 million. Year to date sales are up 7% to $19.3 million in the current year from $18.0 million last year.
Retail Leathercraft's sales rose 14% to $4.1 million compared to March 2012 sales of $3.6 million. The 77 comparable stores' sales were up 13% compared to the same period last year. The one store opened after March 2012 added March sales of $42,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $11.6 million this year, a 14% increase over sales of $10.2 million for the same period of 2012. As of the end of March, the 77 comparable stores' sales were up 13% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2012.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.4 million for March, up 1% compared to March 2012 sales of $2.3 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale same store sales matched that of March 2012 sales while the National Account group's sales were up 17% from March 2012. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $6.8 million compared to $7.1 million in 2012, down 5%. As of the end of March, the wholesale same store sales were up 3% compared to the same period last year and the National Account group's sales are down 65%.
International Leathercraft reported March sales of $290,000, up 20% compared to March 2012 sales of $241,000. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $953,000 compared to $735,000 in 2012, up 30%. All three stores in the segment have been opened for both periods, so same store sales for the month and year to date were the same as the segment's sales.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, "We are pleased with our March sales and our start to the year. Like February, there was one less selling day in March for us but we still easily beat last year's sales for the month. We continue to believe that increasing the size of our existing stores is being well-received by our customers as evidenced by our positive sales trends."
Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer added, "We believe our growth opportunities are in the expansion of our own store chain, both by increasing the size of our existing stores and opening new ones as appropriate, and not in our sales to National Accounts. As we move forward, the impact of our National Account group on our total sales will continue to shrink."
Tandy Leather Factory, Inc., (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a specialty retailer and wholesale distributor of a broad product line including leather, leatherworking tools, buckles and adornments for belts, leather dyes and finishes, saddle and tack hardware, and do-it-yourself kits. The Company distributes its products through its 29 Leather Factory stores, located in 19 states and 3 Canadian provinces, 78 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 37 states and 6 Canadian provinces, and three combination wholesale/retail stores located in the United Kingdom, Australia and Spain. Its common stock trades on the Nasdaq with the symbol "TLF". To be included on Tandy Leather Factory's email distribution list, go to http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1625&to=ea&s=0.
This news release may contain statements regarding future events, occurrences, circumstances, activities, performance, outcomes and results that are considered "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and events may differ from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: changes in general economic conditions, negative trends in general consumer-spending levels, failure to realize the anticipated benefits of opening retail stores; availability of hides and leathers and resultant price fluctuations; change in customer preferences for our product, and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and except as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Shannon L. Greene, Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.
(817) 872-3200 or sgreene@tandyleather.com
Mark Gilbert, Magellan Fin, LLC
(317) 867-2839 or MGilbert@MagellanFin.com